A Winter's Tale or Just Another Metaphor For Life

This one goes back a little bit....

....to right after I graduated from college, and moved to smack-dab in the middle of an Arctic Tundra known as Minneapolis, MN....right on I-94, equidistant from Uptown and Downtown, if you're familiar with the area. I had a view of the modest skyline of Downtown, and found the sound of the traffic from the highway to be comforting for some reason.

I digress.....

I was looking for what the Replacements would call, a "Goddamn Job", when I came across an ad stating that a local dinner theatre company was looking for musicians for a Patsy Cline revue....I think it was called Closer Walk with Patsy Cline. They wanted a drummer who could also sing vocal harmony parts. "What the hell", I thought, "I could do THAT....and, I might LEARN something....and....who's going to have a COOLER first post-college job than THAT?! NO fucker, THAT's who!!!" I called the number in the ad immediately, talked myself up a bit (no shit), and set up the audition for that Saturday.

I remember it being colder than witch's lingerie closet that day. No matter, I got in the pick-up truck & drove to the suburbs for my audition. This would be a good time to mention that I was a TOTAL CHEAPSKATE when it came to keeping the tank filled with gas....so much so that I found myself tempting fate very often (much like our good friend Kramer). Well, this was NOT a good day to do that, as I admitted to myself when, right on the goddamn highway, with the gas gauge on "E" (usually my favorite letter, but perhaps not in this case), the engine just....petered out. I got out of the truck and tried a little trick that I used to use when this would happen, which was to take the gas cap off & keep it open. For some reason, this would often allow me to start the damn truck up again, and coast to the nearest gas station. Yeah....it didn't work this time, and I was getting late for my audition.

I grabbed the gas can (which, now that I think about it, I should have kept FILLED) from underneath the topper, and flagged down someone who was nice enough to drive me to a gas station (which was less than a mile away, of course) to get some gas. When I got back, I poured the gas into the tank, and then I reached for my keys......which....weren't.....there.

Yup, there they were....in the ignition, where I left them. And of COURSE I locked the goddamn door...and the other one. FUCK!!! WHAT the HELL was I going to do?! I was now more than fashionably late for my audition, and I didn't have any time for this crap! 

So....I did what any other enterprising, red-blooded, young American Rock n' Roller would have done. I crawled underneath the topper.....got on my side....brought my leg back with an angle so my boot heel was aimed just so.....and, with all of my might, I KICKED IN the middle panel of the back window!!!  Then I reached in, grabbed my drum sticks, and with them, flipped the lever on the side of the door and unlocked it. Then I grabbed the blanket that I had back there, and covered the seat with it (as there was no sense in getting cut by broken glass).

I finally pulled into the theatre company's offices, apologized profusely for being (at least) a half hour late, and explained how much of a DUMBASS I was!! Thankfully, they were totally cool about it. 

I did my drumming/percussion audition, my singing audition, and my doing-both-at-the-same-time audition (despite being as winded as Holy Hell).....

And.....to make a long story not QUITE as long......

....I GOT THE GIG!!!!!  BOOM!!!!!

How to meet girls the long, hard way, or what's this dirt on my eye? (Weird Tales From the City, Part 2)

This strange occurrence happened about 8 years ago....and many, MANY beers, hahahaha....it's 100% true, as far as I can recollect....some (not many) of you might remember this when it happened.

I'd been in NYC for less than a year....so, I almost had my "sea legs", ie, I had a band, my personal style had adapted to my surroundings, and had made my way around the block a few times. Things were pretty cool. But I didn't have it all figured out by any means (and I still don't, for that matter). But I did learn a valuable lesson...

I had been out on one of those legendary late nights that I talk about all the time....it was a Friday night, and I'd been to a friend's dinner party....let's just say I'd had MANY martinis of some kind. This had been on the Upper West Side....and I believe I had joined some other friends of mine for beers afterward, at the now-closed Bellevue Bar (which I'd since been banned from for practically nothing, but that's not nearly as good a story) and had more than a few beers. But at around 2 AM or so, my friends had left, and I was left drunk and alone. This wasn't altogether out of the ordinary (and still isn't), but....let's just say I was *very* intoxicated, and should have really just gone home at this point (I lived right down the street).

But NO, of course, I HAD to stay OUT, and have MORE FUN, right? So I went up the street to Rudy's to have a few more beers.

The events that followed were lost in a fog....

I woke the next morning, aching like a clubbed seal! Again, not too out of the ordinary. I got up, walked down the hallway to the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and thought to myself, "What's with this mud on my eyebrow?!"

It wasn't MUD...it was black and blue....clearly, I'd been clocked! It wasn't TOO bad....but...I was concerned, to say the very least!

I also had a bunch of voicemails on my phone from worried friends back home whom I'd apparently drunk-dialed during the night....damn....

Amidst the haze in my brain, the last thing I remember was....(holy shit)....falling through the doorway, and a little blonde girl tumbling down with me.

I spent that entire day wondering what the fuck happened....so I went back to Rudy's to ask them what went down. All they could tell me was that I'd pissed someone off, and they punched me out the door.....and that was about it.

FAST FORWARD TO ABOUT 6 MONTHS LATER>>>>>>>>>

I was at LIT's opening party.....which had an HR Geiger exhibit in the back. It was GREAT fun for an early Saturday evening. I was to guest DJ at Georgie Seville and DJ Chrissy's Glam 2000 party at Nouvelle Justine (now closed) later that night....so, this was a nice pre-party for me.

So, I was in the gallery, checking out the art, with a glass of Merlot in one hand....and a glass of Merlot in the other....checking out the art that adorned the wall, cluelessly fascinated, as I like to be while admiring something intensely cool that I know nothing about. I was taking a sip from the glass in my left hand, when a little voice to my right said, "Well....HI! How are YOU?!"

I looked over, and there was a cute little blonde girl smiling at me. What luck! I answered, "Pretty DAMN good....how are YOU?!" Hahahahahaha....right?

She answered, "You don't REMEMBER me, DO you?"

I replied, "I'll be honest....I really don't....but please, refresh my memory...I'm ALL EARS!"

She said, "You got into a scuffle over me some months back....."

"NOOOOOOOOOO FUCKING WAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!"

So, she and her also-cute friend (whom I still talk to-to this day-she knows who she is) and I sat down and they told me what had happened.

Apparently, I was at the jukebox at Rudy's, gloriously drunk, and put a Doors song on...I think it might have been "Touch Me" ...and I sauntered up to this table where these two girls were sitting, and started serenading them along with the song, all Top Gun style...except I used my Budweiser bottle as a microphone, and....I sang a lot better (I hope)....I was paying particular attention to the blonde....

....what I wasn't paying attention to was the dudes they were sitting with, who alledgedly played in some Brooklyn Hardcore band whose name I won't mention here. I guess they weren't WITH these guys, per se....but these dudes had designs on them, and they were none too pleased to have this black-haired pretty boy (me, at least at the time, hahahaha) closing in on their action. I guess it was getting close to bartime, and this girl and I were going out for a smoke or something....and we were heading toward to the door. As I opened the door, a big mug of beer bounced off the wall to my right. I was in the middle of turning around, and exclaiming, "What the FUCK," when the punch landed, and the girl (who apparently was trying to stop this guy) and I tumbled out the door onto the sidewalk.

Then I did the first smart thing I'd done all night, and hauled ass down the street back to my apartment.

So that was that.

Oh, and after the party at Lit, I dated the little blonde girl for over a month.

She doesn't live in NYC anymore, but we write occasionally. She's a nice girl. Her friend (now my friend too, hahaha) I see around the city here and there....she's also a nice girl.

The moral of the story?

While this might have (eventually) been an effective means of making friends....it's always better not to black out alone.

Thanks for reading!

Your good friend,

Marty E.

You Should Have Never Opened That Door or This Might Have Been The Guy Everyone's Parents Warned Us About (Wierd Tales from the City, Part 1)

When I moved to New York City, over 9 years ago, it was even harder to find a place to live than it is now....hell, I'd say it was a *lot* harder, now that I think about it. There was no Craig's List, to speak of (I think maybe it was just starting at that point) for one to find ads in, nor was there Facebook/Twitter/Myspace, etc, to help get the word across. There was the Village Voice (the PRINT version), but anything listed in there was almost always GONE by the time you even had a chance to read the ad. There were all kinds of "services" that would supposedly give you "lists" of available apartments if you'd give them, for, like, $200....but most of those were scams, and often, they were just reprints of the Voice ads. Fuckers.

There was one service that I used that *was* legit, and...to the lady who worked there that helped me....wherever she is, God bless your heart, wherever you are....and to my good friend Alfredo, who had a very soft floor in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn for me to crash on for the time-being.

That being said, it was still quite the adventure calling all these people who were looking for roommates, figuring out whether or not they were worth pursuing, and inevitably hopping all over a sweltering New York City (which I didn't know my way around quite yet, but was learning) to look at these apartments and meet these people.

[Overwhelming? Welcome to my life....and maybe yours too, right?]

But I'm writing today to tell you about the best story I picked up while desperately seeking a feasible living space. Some of you who know me might have heard this one, but....this is the type of story that NEVER gets old, and one I will never forget.

So, I saw a listing for a room in a two-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, right by the corner of 83rd and Broadway, for about $700. So far, so good, right? So, I called this dude, who sounded sane and cool enough in the brief conversation I had with him on the phone. Furthermore, if I remember correctly, I believe I was the first caller, which inspired confidence. So I made an appointment to see meet this guy at his apartment that afternoon, around 3pm. Good shit!

So, I looked at my trusty Subway map and got my ass in gear and went over there....the apartment was on the 8th floor I think....the building at a doctor's office at street level....I got in the elevator, which lifted me to the 8th floor. The first thing I saw when the doors opened up was a "welcome" mat that said, "GET LOST!" I looked at my piece of paper, and was relieved that this was NOT the apartment I was to look at (but it was, indeed, good advice, as we're about to find out). I turned to my left and walked on down to the end of the hall, and knocked on the door.

The door opened up....and what I saw was a weird motherfucker in his mid-fifties....he sort of looked like a way-more-weathered Gary Busey. He was fat, had "gin blossons" on his nose, and had the three long hairs on his head pulled back in a pony tail. No shit. He sort of lunged at me, grabbed one of my shoulders, while "patting" the other one (pretty hard, mind you), sort of pulled me in and bellowed, "HI! HOW are YOUUU?!!!! You must me MARRRRRTY!!!!!" The guy seemed to be perpetually shouting...not in an angry way but....they guy was just too happy in his own skin, especially when it looked like that!

Anyway, we stepped into the living room, where there were two grand pianos, some sheet music strewn on the floor, and some college kid from Laos, who was all of 19-years-old at the very most, lying on a mat in the corner. "THIS IS ONE OF MY TENANTS," the guy said. I wondered how much he was charging this poor kid for a corner of the living room....but it occurred to me quickly that I'd rather not know what the arrangement was.

He led me to the room I was there to look at, which was fine....then we went through the door to the bathroom....then through another door to his room....all the while, he was constantly patting my shoulders....the thought of which still makes me queasy. I guess he wanted to discuss business in his room. Great. "HAVE A SEAT HERE....on the BED", he all but screamed. "Fuck that shit", I was thinking, while I practically jumped into the chair at his desk instead.

So he began telling me his story, with occasional interjections from me. "WELL....I'm an ACTOR and I TEACH PIANO LESSONS in the LIVING ROOM, there, which is why the PIANOS are IN THERE!!!! I go OUT from TIME to TIME, and DRINK and PLAY CARDS.....and I DATE MEN AND WOMEN...."

Which, is fine, but.....

Holy shit, this guy was just too much!!!! Do you remember the dude you were afraid was going to come and GET you when you were a little kid and couldn't sleep? Well, THIS was the GUY!

So, I mentioned that my former girlfriend from back home was to visit me for a week or so, and asked if he would have a problem with that. "NOOOOOO.....NOPE....I can't be HAVING THAT," he roared.

"OK, then," I said, "Um....really nice meeting you anyway!"

Hahahahahaha....

It wasn't over yet. Apparently he had to go downstairs for something, so....I had to do what no living organism ever wanted to do, and that was get in the elevator with this guy!

So, in the elevator, he asked me why I moved to New York, and I briefly explained to him that I was a drummer looking for a band.

Without as much as a split second's hesitation, he ROARED, "YEAH!!!! THAT WAY YOU CAN BE A ROCK STAR and FUCK 'EM AAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[I couldn't do anything but laugh my ass off right along with him, if only because....I knew what he meant when he said, "ALL"!

The End.

Another review of The Perfect Age of Rock N' Roll

Thanks, Jay!

http://thesexyarmpit.blogspot.com/2006/06/perfect-age-of-rock-and-roll-review.html

One day in the life of a performer who always needs to be on or next time I wonder what it will be like if I just go out & get drunk the night before

Last Wednesday, I went to the studio w/ The Dirty Pearls to record a song which has become our anthem, "New York City is a Drug" with Daniel Rey producing.

The night before, I decided to stay clear of drinking/partying/trouble of any kind in an attempt to get a decent night's sleep for once. Well that was a fucking great idea. I had a Grolsch beer to stabilize my system, read from Bukowski's Women (an old favorite of mine that I've been revisiting lately), listened to some Gram Parsons....and tried to sleep. Well, that didn't work. I tossed and turned, as if my bed was a washing machine set to the goddamn "Spin" cycle. You know how that it is when you know that you need your rest, and the pressure thereof prevents you from getting that rest? That was me. So, I wound up getting two hours of it. I fell asleep around 8am...and Daniel called me up at 10:15 to tell me he was on his way to pick me up....well....I remember what Klaus Meine of the Scorpions once said, "Being a Rock N' Roller is a lot like being an athlete...you have to perform no matter how you feel." Damn right!

So, I put my Thin Lizzy shirt on, grabbed my cymbals, and walked downstairs into the pissing rain, and got into Daniel's car. I told him immediately that I was going on two hours' sleep. He laughed and said, "Yeah, well, you can never sleep the night before a session...I got four hours' sleep myself!"

Yeah, I like this guy. So we drove over, talked about the Ramones, Circus of Power, and whatever the fuck else. Daniel had told me that he had called Tom (an awesome engineer, owner of Nuthouse Studios, and a stand-up dude) the night before w/ some specs re: mics and shit in order to cut down set-up time. Awesome.

I like working with a producer - at least one like Daniel, who understands the band's vision and how to achieve it....and creates an atmosphere that's comfortable for everyone to play their best. His authority in the studio goes without saying, but in such a way that allows the band to be itself and themselves. It was a great balance, and a great dynamic. It looked like a winning team between the 7 of us, and I knew I could do my part no matter how much sleep I'd had. Hell, I played a gig one time on less, w/ guys I was unfamiliar with, and it went down without a hitch...I could certainly kill it in the studio with the Pearls.

After spending some time with drum sounds and getting the drum to sound like the artillery needed to blast this song into Rock N' Roll oblivion (which, of course, takes awhile, but not nearly as long as I'm used to for this sort of thing)....Daniel told me to step out and grab a bite to eat and some coffee, because it was going to be time for me to go to work soon.

So I went to this diner down the street. They wouldn't serve breakfast items (it was "lunch time"....fuck....)....so I ordered something called "pretzyl bread", a french onion soup, a buttered roll for one of the guys, and a couple of coffees. Simple enough, right? Nope....I waited like a HALF HOUR for this crap. While I was waiting, the Rolling Stones song, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" came on the radio. While I sipped a coffee and sort of swayed my head along with it, some numbskull in a booth across from me said to the waiter, "Hey Man...who sings this song?"

I rubbed my temples and shook my head in my hands....

The WAY overpriced food/coffee items, after an extended wait? $16....witnessing the stupidity of one who should be old enough to know who the fucking Rolling Stones are? Priceless!

I went back and ate while the other guys got set up for their rhythm tracks (which they were to play along with me) and Tommy's scratch vocal...which again, took awhile, so I rested for a bit...then it was time to go forth and thrash.

We ran through the song a number of times, only stopping occasionally to make sure we were on the right track in terms of sounds and parts, and to make some adjustments with tempos, etc....after a couple of hours or so of this, I was about done, and someone else mentioned being hungry, so we all ordered these kickass italian subs and bs'd about this and that. Afterwhich, Daniel asked us to do one more take....I decided, since the mozzerella was so fresh on my sandwich, that I'd play some of it a little differently this time....which seemed to be to everyone else's liking. After that, I was through with my biggest responsibility, and could sit back and relax. Who needs sleep, anyway?

Dougie's bass playing was so spot-on from the rhythm takes, I don't think he did any overdubs at all....he's a genius, that boy, he really is.

So...onto guitars....Ritchie was first....he added some great parts on there, as well as, most likely, the best solo I've ever heard him play.....it was fucking awesome....nice one, Rich! Then Johnny sat down and added this fucking "spaghetti western" western part that really added depth and dimension to the sound...

This was really turning into something.

The guitarists had had enough at this point, and split....Dougie and I decided to stay and sit in on Tommy vocal takes....which went pretty much without a hitch. I like to be there after I finsih just to add encouragement and all that shit. Tommy batted it out of the park, and finished up his lead vocal lines and the harmonies he wanted to do rather quickly.

Then Daniel, Tommy, Dougie, and I went in to do the gang vocal parts in the choruses (which for me, is the most fun part of a session).....

....and that was it....the track is in the can....we should have it ready in a couple of weeks.....

...the track will go directly to Sirius/XM Radio, and we will be doing a Single Release Party @ Santo's Party House on Thursday, July 23rd....Eve to Adam and Midnight Fistfight and other special guests are on the bill, and it will be an awesome Rock N' Roll event, and there will be lots of surprises....stay tuned!

I, for one, can't wait!

Thanks for reading!

Marty E.

A Rock N' Roll version of "Pay It Forward", or "Working My Way Back to..."????

If you know anything about me, you know that music, especially Rock N' Roll music, is my passion, joy, and pain. From a very lean age, great Rock N' Roll has inspired me to seek out what inspired it, as much as it has to create my own.

I discovered this a LONG time ago, when Guns N' Roses released Appetite For Destruction. For a young lad such as I was at the time, there wasn't ANYTHING that sounded quite like it (especially since I was used to....well, shit like Motley Crue and Kiss, etc, which are fine and good in their own right...but comparatively dim in my view). The music was raw, real, honest, deep, and made no apologies, whether it was about Sex, Drugs, Love, Paranoia, Struggling, Starving, or whathaveyou. But, in hindsite what I REALLY liked about Gn'R was that they name-checked their influences in a LOT of their interviews, and insodoing, they not only did a service to those bands that influenced them by exposing and paying tribute to them, but they were also doing just as much of a service to pint-sized, impressionable fans like myself.

The first band that Gn'R were responsible for turning me onto (besides, perhaps, Aerosmith) were Hanoi Rocks. And the influence was evident right away, not only visually (Axl Rose and Izzy Stadlin', in the early days, certainly resembled Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy), but musically as well. Guns, surely by no coincidence, lifted the title, "Welcome to the Jungle" from a lyric in the chorus if Hanoi Rocks's "Underwater World". That being said, Guns made sure that the first 4 Hanoi Rocks studio albums (and later their live All Those Wasted Years album) got released in the US via Geffen on their Uzi Suicide imprint. You have to admit, that's pretty fucking classy.

The Guns N' Roses/Hanoi Rocks connection didn't end there by any means. First of all, it was then via Hanoi Rocks that I got into the New York Dolls (and of course various spin-off/solo projects rose from their ashes)....for which not enough has been written and there's just too much to write...but case in point, I loved/related to the Dolls pretty quickly and the older I get, the more I love them and what their music represents...which is close to what Gn'R represented, but it was much more controversial to dress up and live that level of decadence in the 70's, which proved, in a nutshell, to be the Dolls' undoing....and the Dolls were and are a New York institution, and as far as Rock N' Roll goes, probably the best and most definitive, for my ears.

Furthermore, it was via Hanoi that I really started to appreciate Punk Rock....sure, I was into the Sex Pistols and the Clash to a minimal degree (at the time), but I didn't quite "get it" yet. Then I read an interview w/ Sami Yaffa in a Hanoi fanzine about how The Damned were his biggest influence, or something along those lines (I've since been able to thank Sami in person, hahahahaha). THIS I understood. They were fun, didn't take themselves too seriously (until much later), wrote great songs, and played them well. And via the Damned, I was able to appreciate what the other Punk Rock bands of that era (especially) had to offer. And that has certainly done a service to me and the music I've played.

Of paramount importance, though, is the fact that the GnR/Hanoi Rocks/Aerosmith/Dolls/English Punk lineage led me, once and for all, to the Rolling Stones....who, like AC/DC and the afrementioned Punk bands, I didn't understand fully until I had been drinking for a little while, hahahaha. I can't really say a goddamn thing about the importance of the Rolling fuckin' Stones that hasn't already been said 75 Billion times, but....it was through those bands who took their style and spun it into their own who brought me to them......

Anyway, I could write a lot about all the directions this could go in, from Motown to Trip Hop to Death Metal (well...a little bit anyway), but who has the time?

My point is, that while listening to your idols is important, it's just as important to listen to your idols' idols...(and maybe a little Billy Idol, for that matter)....so then they become yours too. And furthermore, if you have an opportunity to tell people who are into what you to, you're doing a service not only to the bands in question, but to your listeners. My hope is that one day I find myself on a level at which I can make that matter to lots of people as much as my boyhood icons made it matter to me!

Thanks for reading!

Marty E.

You know that you're a full-fledged New Yorker when...(part 1)

....you can explain, with some degree of sophistication, why a slice of pizza at one place is SO MUCH BETTER than slice of pizza at another place right across the street.

Has it been THAT long?

Well....as difficult as it is for me to believe....I moved my hungry, hopeful, freaked-out, and fed-up self to New York City a whopping 9 years ago today.....

....what I marvel at the most is the fact that one year seems to be more awe-inspiring and crazier than the last. I've had the chance to work in various capacities with some of my heroes, made friends with people who will one day be your heroes, worked my ass off, and partied my face off afterward to celebrate it all. I've experienced joys and pleasures untold that I once didn't think I had the capacity for, and....occasionally, momentarily, felt like chucking it all....but I've always snapped out of that! Thank God...and Thank You! Ahahahahaha.....

As Steven Tyler says, "...see what happens next week!" He's absolutely right.

I have no delusions about the fact that I'm still struggling in a lot of ways. Being too comfortable, though, I guess, removes ones hunger....or at least that's what I've heard....I've rarely ever been terribly comfortable.....and I'm still extremely hungry. That's a damn good thing, because there's just so much more to do. I don't care how shitty the music industry or the economy is...I moved here to make my dreams come true, and have accomplished that in more ways than I ever really knew was possible....so, it's time to conquer the rest! That's a tall order....

Anyone who tells you that something can't be accomplished is speaking merely for himself, and that's fine. Anyone who says that nice guys finish last is completely full of shit, missing the point, and merely justifying his own failures and shortcomings (and chances are damn good he's not THAT nice anyway...how many NICE people have you met who are bitter drama queens? That's what I thought). It depends on how hard the said nice guy is willing to work and how much he believes in himself. And people can read that on your face like a fucking traffic light....it sure isn't rocket science. And sure, a little bit of talent, brains, style, tact, and personality don't hurt either, but hard work and self-confidence sire the rest of these things. Put them all together, and with any LUCK, you move up the ladder, get EXPERIENCE and learn....then....the cycle begins again. As Skynyrd once said, it "Ain't No Good Life" -but if you accept and embrace that fact.....perhaps you can make it so.

I know I'm going to! How about you?

That's what I thought....

For my part, I have recording, gigs on the East and West Coasts, a movie screening, and God knows what else to look forward to for the rest of the year.....thanks to everyone who made it all possible....

Your Good Friend,

Marty E.

NEW YORK CITY IS A DRUG!!!

We enter the recording studio later this month with Producer Daniel Rey (Ramones, Misfits, Richard Hell) to record our anthem "New York City Is A Drug". SIRIUS/XM will be supporting the single as well as hosting the release party! More info on that soon!! In the meantime, here is a video of "New York City Is A Drug" from our performance at our sold out Bowery Ballroom show in April!

There's something strange about music these days or It's been a short time since I Rock N' Roll

I'll preface this entry by granting you that my tastes in music, and perhaps that of people whose paths I cross in New York City, are probably not necessarily typical of the rest of the country, or the world for that matter.

That being said, I dj around town here and there, at least once a week....and not always for the same "types" of people, but, for the most part, for typically younger bar crowds of varying #'s (not clubs - which for some reason seem to exclusively play hip hop and dance music) . But, as always, people will often request songs, which I usually don't mind, as long as people aren't too damn obnoxious about it.

One of the reasons why I like to hear out people's requests is that I'm curious as to what they want to hear....and if you HAVE what they want to hear, you might make a new friend. There's no shame in either of those things, is there? Now, the results I get range from the downright insulting ("NO, I won't play any Good fucking Charlotte, ok? But feel free to try again!") to....the extremely cool ("Sure, I think I might have a Kyuss song for you!").

But more often than not, no matter how old the requester is, and they're often very young (i.e., early- to mid-twenties), they want to hear what is what most consider to be "old school" Rock N' Roll. It boggles my mind how....whether it be a girl who's 21-years-old if she's a day, requesting A-HA's "Take On Me" (ok, that might not be very "Rock N' Roll" but you get my point) or an entire room full of them singing on the top of their lungs with their hands in the air to Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer"....or whatever. Granted, these were HUGE commercial hits in their time, but most of these people weren't even born yet when these songs were initially popular.

But what really boggles my mind, is that I get WAY more requests for Guns N' Roses and Led Zeppelin, etc, than I ever do for fucking Nickleback or Fall Out Boy, et al. Doesn't that strike you as being a bit strange.

I mean, when I was younger, I was into what was happening at the time and what had become old school. In my experiences, which, again, are limited to New York City in this case, the old school seems to be the rule. I mean, sure, you go out and hear She Wants Revenge and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Kings of Leon, but.....those bands (like my own) are far more reminiscent of....again, old school Rock N' Roll....which, the more time passes, covers a lot more ground and a lot more subgrenres. I think it's awfully interesting.

Is music (or, more accurately, the "music business") killing itself, and rendering itself obsolete? Are people's tastes actually just as good as they always were, and like many of us, do people just look for what they want out of music from the figurative history books? Is it true that there just isn't a standard of quality with music anymore, which causes people to turn a deaf ear to what's going on currently?

Who the hell knows?

What's great about it is this: no matter what's going on in music today, there's always going to be that singer or band that you never heard...whose song is going to cross paths with your ears, and make you say, "Holy SHIT, what the hell IS that? Well, FIND OUT!!!" Ahahahahaha. I mean, case in point, last Summer, I was in a minivan being hauled to the movie set, when I heard something BRILLIANT emitting from the speakers.....and I heard this GREAT guitar lead and I said, "Hey...will you please turn this up?" Then, after about 10 more seconds, I said, "WOW!!!! This is AWESOME!!!! What IS THIS?" Well, it was UFO's "Doctor Doctor" on some satellite radio station. I've loved the band ever since! Like Mick Jones from the Clash once said, "If doesn't matter when you get it, as long as you get it."

My point is that there's always going to be great music out there.....just keep listening for it. And if you find something awesome, let me know!

Take care,

Marty E.

PS-And I hope that somebody somewhere out there gets one of those moments I just described when they hear the Dirty Pearls, ahahahahahaha.....

From just over a year ago: A few words about my definition being real, or I can't believe you would say such a thing!!!

I made this entry on my Myspace blog about a year ago....I thought it was one of my better entries, and just as relevant today as it was then, if not moreso...read on.....

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

I am out all the time....and when I'm out, I do a lot of talking. And, believe it or not, I do a hell of a lot of listening too. Conversation is life's most immediately accessible art-form, I think.

But, something comes up often-often enough to make me ponder and write about it.

I get comments, especially from women that I know, that they prefer me when I'm being "real".

But I don't know what they mean.

I think what they mean is that they like it better when I'm not talking about my band, my music, kicking ass, getting successful, getting fucked up, and generally doing the things that I do.

But seriously, those things are so incredibly real to me....and maybe they don't understand, that's the way I live. Rock N' Roll is my life, and everything I do is for that, ultimately. Sure, when I'm 3 beers into the evening, and I talk about growing up as a geek or how cool I think my nieces/nephews are, or how my brothers' wives had a big hand in making me who I am, it might be more appealing than how many clubs I've sold out in New York City or how great a time I'm going to have in LA next month. But, that doesn't make those things any more or less real.

It's all real....across the board. I don't feel that anything I say or do, ever, is insincere, dishonest, or disingenuous in any way, shape, or form....to a fault at times. Just because I'm not kissing someone's ass or disagree with someone doesn't mean I'm not being real. On the contrary, it means that I fucking AM being real....perhaps much more so than the person at the other end. Every time I sing a song, pound the drums, shake a good friend's hand, or kiss a beautiful girl, you can bet your sweet ass that it's 100% for real.

Case in point, there was an occasion recently in which I thought someone really overstepped some bounds with me, and was extremely presumptuous. I became a little bit upset, which happens pretty rarely. I usually take the high road (insert joke here, ahahahaha....) when it comes to trivial conflicts such as this, but there are certain things that I think a person shouldn't have to tolerate, no matter how easy going he/she might be....and I'm pretty fucking easy going! But this person, again, said something about liking me better when I'm "real", as opposed to having my guard up and calling shit the way I saw it. Fuck that - I WAS being real. It's just that this person REALly pissed me off. But that's over now.

I remember when I was in one of my old bands...I'm sure you know which one....someone came up to the bass player and I and said she liked the band but wishes we sang about "real" things. We replied that we played songs about Sex, Drugs, & Rock N' Roll....and since we do those things, there isn't anything unreal about it. I don't think she understood. But have you listened to the Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers album? Well, "Sister Morphine", "Brown Sugar", and Sway" are all on there...so are "I've Got The Blue" and "Wild Horses"....and it doesn't get any more real than the Stones (well...up until 1983, ahahahaha....). My point is that those songs aren't all about the same subjects...and they don't sound the same. But what ties them all together, besides the fact that they are absolutely brilliant, is that, to my ears, they are 100% the real fucking thing.

My point is, best exemplified by the following juxtaposition for you to chew on....I think that Poison songs like "Talk Dirty To Me" and "I Want Action" are probably far more real than any of the pseudo-Christian "rock" candy-ass muzak spewed forth by the likes of Nickleback and Creed, ok?

I'm hope this has cleared any doubt on the subject.

First review of The Perfect Age of Rock N' Roll posted....

....and it's quite favorable: http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2009/04/newport-beach-film-festivaljason-ritter.html

What an insane Saturday night....even what I missed was awesome....

I'm gonna start by saying thank you to everyone who made the second headlining Dirty Pearls show at the Bowery a SOLD OUT success. That means, thanks to each and every member of that beautiful crowd...I mean, wow....like Don Henley once sang, "I thought I knew what love was...what did I know?" Ahahahahaha.....

.....and THANKS to everyone who helped us promote the show, via interviewing us, by telling your friends about us, reposting our self- promo posts, or what-have-you. Every little bit helps, and means a whole hell of a lot to us.

I think above all, I have to thank our crew that night....of course there's Dave, our manager....and Jeff, Nate, Tommy, Joey, Mystie, Lauren, Jamie, and of course, the "Pearlettes", Jennifer and Alex.....the impact of that show wouldn't have been as massive had it not been for your help, nor would it have gone nearly as smoothly.....I hope I didn't miss anyone....hahahahaha....

It was really glorious up there for me, and for the rest of the band too.....I will admit, I was a little nervous beforehand, which is rare for me. As soon as I stepped on that stage, those nerves just melted away....I think it was the sound of the audience beginning to scream that cut through my nerves like a hot knife through frozen butter....THANKS again.

I think it might have been the best show I ever played, all in all.

We're just waiting for the results to come in from this show, and it might take a week or two....the last time, we got opening gigs with Twisted Sister, the New York Dolls, then Bret Michaels....so I'm excited to see what might happen this time. I'll keep you posted.

On another note, The Perfect Age of Rock N' Roll (the movie in which I am part of the principal cast) world premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival, also this past Saturday night....I hear from my boy Jasin that it was standing room only, for a capacity crowd of 300 people, who evidently loved it....I hear that people were fighting over the last few admissions....these are all very good signs, and inspire confidence that there might be a nation and/or worldwide release coming soon. Anyway, thanks to everyone I worked with on the film...I love you all...and to anyone who might have caught the premiere....I hope I looked ok, ahahahahaha....

Above all, I just want to thank all of my friends & family for supporting me, thick and thin, drunk and sober.....insane and more insane....you mean the world to me....it's all going to happen, and I'm taking you all with me.....

Marty E.

A very in-depth interview w/ Crusher Magazine...

Thanks Christine, for the great questions and great times!

http://www.crushermagazine.com/features4_09/featpearls.htm

Review of The Dirty Pearls at the Bowery Ballroom

Thanks, Guys!

http://blogsnroses.com/2009/04/27/review-of-the-dirty-pearls-at-the-bowery-ballroom.aspx

The best way to not get jaded, bitter, and old is to learn how to get over it and move on....

I meet a lot of people in my travels. I cross many paths. A lot of water has passed underneath the bridge that my life is, and plenty of shit goes down. I know I'm not unique in that, especially in this town. Everyone I know is probably living some kind of perpetual mini series.

I'm more into comedy than drama....I don't mind WATCHING drama, but I'd rather live a comedy...which is not to say that I want life to be a joke or that I don't take it seriously....quite the contrary.

Nobody's perfect, but time and again, I see people who do nothing but complain, complain, complain.....and bellyache about this and that which happened in the past. They hold grudges, dwell on ancient history, and consequently hold bitterness in their hearts. And what good does THAT do? It ages a person, and makes them unattractive to others. People can see your true colors pretty quickly, I think....just ask them.

I learned very early in life that when life throws shit at you like some rhesus fucking monkey, or knocks you down like steamroller, the best thing to do is wipe yourself off, feel the pain for a *little* while, then face forward and do your best to learn a lesson, move the fuck on, and GET THE FUCK OVER IT. How did I learn this? Let's just say I lost a lot of significant family members before age 12, ok? But the rest of my family and I didn't waste our lives sitting around and moping and crying about it. We turned chicken shit into chicken salad and made the best of it! It's not being callous or cold (two things that I am definitely not), it's simply facing reality but not letting it kill who you are.

We all have our stories about why our lives are fucked up in one way or another....nobody wants to hear you complain. People want to be inspired and forget about the shitfalls of their own, even if for a few moments. To me, that's what Rock N' Roll is about in a lot of ways, and is one of the more poignant reasons why I do and believe in what I do.

And so far it's going pretty well, because I couldn't be bothered with any reasons why it WOULDN'T! I mean, the whole world is stacked against most everybody.....that's a given. Why dwell on the fucking negative? Forget about that shit....and I refuse to travel in negative company....can you dig it? Too many people justify their own failures and problems with all these reasons why they can't do something, how it's all someone fucking else's fault, and pretty much just bitch, bitch bitch their lives away. They take no responsibility for anything, even their own actions.

Not me!

That all being said, we all have problems and disagreements. That's just life. But coming to a resolution is awfully important. Some people are actually taken aback by how forgiving I can be.....and how quickly I'll apologize when it's proper for me to do so. I'm not saying I'm righteous or that I'm even close to always being right. What I am saying is that if there are problems, and there often are, the best thing to do is to atone in whatever way you can and move the fuck on. The longer you let shit fester, the more lines will appear on your face. People, at least the sharp ones, can smell bitterness from miles away, and most of them don't like it. You don't have to be friends with EVERYBODY....but not eveybody is ENEMIES with everyone you don't like, you know? And gratuitous shit-talking is only going to reflect badly on you. Again, I see it happening again and again.

You'd be amazed at how good it feels, if you have a chance, to let the shit that ails you go. It's like concrete blocks have been lifted off your shoulders and replaced by wings. Chances are that the shit that's keeping you down is doing so because you enable it to. That makes you your own worst enemy....and who has time for that shit? Life is, indeed, too fucking short - and remember, it's YOUR life! Take heed and take care.....and while everyone else is bellyaching, shit-talking, and pussyfooting around, you'll be laughing, kicking ass, and having fun. I know which sounds better to me! How about you?

Exclusive Interview with Marty E From the Dirty Pearls Part 2

http://blogsnroses.com/2009/04/09/exclusive-interview-with-marty-e-from-the-dirty-pearls-part-2.aspx

Repost from my Myspace blog from this past November: I just saw the movie I’m in...or, what the hell am I doing up there?

I was going through my Myspace blog to see what might be worth reposting here....so, this will be my first installment of reposts that are still relevant today....

Friday, November 14, 2008

So, after the debacle in Hollywood, I flew home....to be greeted by a low-key screening of the movie I "acted" in this past Summer....it's called The Perfect Age of Rock N' Roll, and stars Kevin Zegers, Jason Ritter, Taryn Manning, Peter Fonda, Lucas Haas, Jason Cadic....and ME!

Here's a little background info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242548/fullcredits

I'll tell you something: it's quite a trip to see yourself up on the big screen, when you've never been in that position before. It's almost as if you feel like you're someone else....which I suppose, if you're acting, you ARE. But I'm not used to it....

...that being said, it really is fucking cool, for me at least. I say this mostly because I think this movie is great....it's true to life, and very, very Rock N' Roll....hell, I'm playing a rambunctious drummer in it....how much more true to life can you get than that?

One thing I thought about though, last night, while I was slamming light beer and watching this thing, was where I was and what I was thinking when the individual scenes were filmed. It conjured up many ghosts what had happened to me that day (and a lot of whacked out shit happened over the Summer), whom I woke up next to (don't even ask, Smartass), new friends I'd made, what kinds of crazy hijinks some of us were up to on the set, the crazy parties we had in hotel parking lots, etc. It was a strange sort of visual emotional roller coaster, as if it was going on inside my mind, except it was up there on the screen!!! I can tell you that I spent most of the film laughing my ass off.....because, not only is a lot of it funny, but I really had fun being a part of it.....I really had no responsibilities to speak of, save for showing the fuck up, and being myself...which basically gave me a license to Rock out, and have fun!

Yeah, that's tough shit, isn't it?

Today, we put some finishing touches on it....I did my voiceovers and all that shit, because there were some sound issues....but it looks like it'll be completely finished before Christmas. It has been submitted in some form to the Sundance Film Festival, and....if it gets in, that's where it will debut....and I'll do my damnedest to be there for it!

Anyway, being part of this film and the entire process was very special to me, just like making music with my band....let's just call it a very close second, or the next best thing. But, as with anything you do that's creative and expressive, the best part is often taking a look at what you've done when it starts coming to fruition....that's got to be the most rewarding thing I can think of really....especially when you're close to the other people who are involved....it's like getting hot and bothered with that sweet angel girl you didn't even know existed a week ago and now you're staring at her ceiling with a cigarette in your mouth wondering how the fuck you got there, ahahahahahaha. (wait a second...what did I say the next best thing was again? Ah, never mind)...it's a fucking beautiful thing...and a feeling that's too rare...and irreplaceable!

Anyway, I can't wait for you all to see this film...it's something I think everyone involved is really proud of, and I think everyone will dig it.

Take care,

Marty E.

Exclusive Interview with Marty E From the Dirty Pearls Part 1

http://blogsnroses.com/2009/04/08/exclusive-interview-with-marty-e-from-the-dirty-pearls-part-1.aspx

Thanks again, guys!

Marty E.

Is everybody going batshit crazy, or what?

What a day. I think maybe this entry will wind up being the most faithful to this blog's title, hahahahaha....

Between having a strange, wonderful, and unexpectedly great couple couple of nights...that seemed to me to be written in the stars....and on the other side, all of the varieties pitfalls that (more than 5 of) my friends have been having in their interaction with the world....and certain people giving me less than merciful character assassinations - one after another - while I try to help sort everything out for everyone....this has been a strange fucking day.

Is it the Spring-denying NYC Weather? Are certain people not getting laid? Is there some kind of poison infiltrating the air? I can't figure it out.

What I can tell you is that, while I am by NO MEANS anyone's boyscout, I CAN say that I make every effort to be, generally, an honest, sensitive, and thoughtful dude. Do I fuck up? Sure! Does my behavior at times deserve to be filed under "Questionable"? Absolutely, I'm sure. But hurting anyone is, and never will be, on my agenda. I'm all about inspiration, fun, and getting the most out of life.

Now, that all being said, sometimes I think that people paint an image of you as a person, that isn't altogether accurate. Consequently, when they are disappointed that you don't live up to that image, or their definition of who you are, especially in relation to them, they get hostile. It's something I don't particularly understand, but when you haven't lied to such people, or misled them into believing that you are a certain way (if anything, you've told them the OPPOSITE) then the only people they are fooling are themselves. Consequently, they are, in effect, using you as a vehicle to hurt/sabotage themselves as well. And all you're doing is waking up and wondering what the fuck this person is so angry at you about.

I mean, just because I can't be what someone expects me to be all the time, for whatever reason, doesn't mean I don't care about that person. And I don't think I pressure anyone, ever, to be something they are not. So, why would anyone else want to do that to me? It's as silly as it is selfish. And what's funny is, when someone is acting up on you in a situation like this, they often use favors that you've done for them as ammo to use against you. It's like that old adage, "No good deed goes unpunished." Well....again, you're welcome.

The best part? The reason people have for ripping you a new one these situations is often the result of hearsay, rumor, shit talking, and the like. And jumping down someone's throat, assuming the worst about them, and believing every single word said out in "drunkland" is wrong....and most people know that....or at least most of my friends (which is a pretty fucking big list, I think, and I love each and every one of you) know that, which is WHY they're my friends.

And if you expect someone to treat you with enough respect not to jump to conclusions (which, as humans, we all do from time to time), maybe you should do the same for them, right? It's not an unreasonable assumption. (There's also the issue of, whose BUSINESS is it WHAT you do?).

If someone automatically assumes the worst about you whenever there's some kind of a discrepancy, then perhaps that person was never your friend in the first place.

Which brings me to a final set of thoughts....perhaps it's shit like this that's sort of life's way of "weeding out the weaklings" from your life. And if it happens that way, you can rest assured that the choices you made were the best ones for you, don't you think?

You're probably wondering what the fuck I'm talking about....but I'm not telling....

Tomorrow is another day....let's make it a brighter, warmer one, ok?

Take care,

Marty E.